“Start Quote

The problem of sexual abuse was known... but the appropriate actions were not undertaken”

Commission report

The report estimates that 10,000-20,000 minors were abused in the care of Catholic institutions between 1945 and 1981, when the number of Church-run homes dropped. In the years between 1981 and 2011, several more thousands suffered at the hands of priests and others working for the Church.

Most of the cases involved mild to moderate abuse, such as touching, but the report estimated there were "several thousand" instances of rape.

'Widespread in Dutch society'

"The problem of sexual abuse was known in the orders and dioceses of the Dutch Catholic Church," the commission says, according to news agency AFP, "but the appropriate actions were not undertaken."

But the report also estimates that one in 10 Dutch children have suffered some form of abuse, rising to one in five among those who had attended an institution - regardless of whether it was Catholic.

“Start Quote

What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated”

Bert SmeetsAbuse victim

"Sexual abuse of minors is widespread in Dutch society," the commission reportedly said.

Bert Smeets, an abuse victim who attended the presentation of the report, said it did not go far enough in detailing precisely exactly what happened.

"What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated," Mr Smeets told the Associated Press news agency. "It remains vague. All sorts of things happened but nobody knows exactly what or by whom. This way, they avoid responsibility."

According to AP, prosecutors say the inquiry referred 11 cases to them - without naming the alleged perpetrators. They opened only one investigation based on those reports, saying the other 10 did not contain enough detailed information and appeared to have happened too long ago to prosecute.

Last month the Dutch branch of the Catholic Church set up a sliding compensation system based on the severity of abuse suffered, offering compensation of between 5,000 and 100,000 euros (£4,200-84,000; $6,500-130,000).

The commission was headed by Wim Deetman, a former government minister, and includes a former judge, university professors and a psychologist.

Its findings have been keenly awaited by the Dutch population, 29% of whom are identified as Catholic, the BBC's Anna Holligan reports from The Hague.